American Tour 2024 [Oakland]
It was great to witness and feel the excitement of the whole touring party regarding the perspective of going to Oakland this morning. There are so many joyful elements linked with the Bay Area for us, from our very significant attachment to the Giants’s baseball team to some of our favorite bands originating from the greater San Francisco region and the sentimentality associated with the American West Coast culture. As for me, it all goes back to Allen Ginsberg and the Beat Generation, the fight for equality and human rights for all, the Grateful Dead, and the Azusa Street movement. But closer to me even is my childhood friend Philippe, who inspired me the courage to pursue my own convictions when he left everything to establish himself in California ages ago. It’s quite incredible to realize how many significant markers you may have in your life as you take a moment to reflect about it and to seize the beautiful importance of the moment you find yourself in.
It was also touching to see our brothers Kerim (our sound engineer) and Felix (our stage manager) to be as excited as we are, coming all the way from Germany to support us on that significant American tour while discovering some of the United States’ mysteries through an 11-seater van window for the very first time. Even Marcus (our savant merch enthusiast), who completes our beloved German crew trio, was super into it even though he often comes to America to visit some of his family members. This all reminds me that, beyond our different political perspectives and social stand points, every “outsider” still gets to experience the U.S. on their own terms, on so many different levels. It’s a fascinating generality, which is especially true for cities like New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, to name a few.
It was also touching to see our brothers Kerim (our sound engineer) and Felix (our stage manager) to be as excited as we are, coming all the way from Germany to support us on that significant American tour while discovering some of the United States’ mysteries through an 11-seater van window for the very first time. Even Marcus (our savant merch enthusiast), who completes our beloved German crew trio, was super into it even though he often comes to America to visit some of his family members. This all reminds me that, beyond our different political perspectives and social stand points, every “outsider” still gets to experience the U.S. on their own terms, on so many different levels. It’s a fascinating generality, which is especially true for cities like New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, to name a few.
We all had an extra measure of positive expectation regarding the communal evening awaiting us all ahead of the trip between Seattle and Oakland. No wonder we arrived that early… 2:30pm. I hate those early arrivals; they force you to pace yourself towards the upcoming catharsis we all anticipate. I can blame the exceptional nonsense that is all the gear I brought with me on that tour for that. In other words, it would be hard for me to complain about our production schedule being so intensively atypical, even on our own standards. I was already a little (very, very little) impatient when we finally started our soundcheck, which is highly determining for me to start and slowly discern the outline of the concert’s spirit. But… Let’s just say it didn’t go as planned. I wasn’t feeling it at all, and on top of it, Sef, who hadn’t noticed how close we were to each other on stage, almost knocked me down while violently dropping his guitar over my head, offering me a flash knockout and some bleeding in the process. I was a bit more impatient after that friendly agression. That’s what you get for founding a band based on creative dangerousness and unexpected improvisational uplift, I guess! It is indeed physically dangerous and unexpected! The silver lining was that we would be live in 60 minutes, so no time to whine. Even if Sef told me, “There’s no crying in rock n roll,” after the fact. That guy…!
My pre-concert vocal warm-ups were a bit more worrisome than my bleeding head, to be honest. Spending a handful of hours in a van followed by very limited sleep is quite detrimental for your vocal cords. At least it is on mine. The song “Slow Pace of the Winds” has particularly high notes that need to be hit without any form of leading scaling. It’s “Bang! Here’s the high note!” so I was wondering if I should go lower instead. I knew I should have, but it’s not really how I operate, especially when it’s the emotional and pivotal point of a song. We’ve come too far along to be scared or play safe at that point, right? We would see some very old friends for the first time, too, some of them dating as far back as 2006; the MySpace era… Oh, the memories! The world has changed ever since, no doubt about that. I’m not sure that some of our early days antics would be accepted nowadays. In fact, I’m sure they wouldn’t! We learn and we grow. Alright, back to the concert now!
My pre-concert vocal warm-ups were a bit more worrisome than my bleeding head, to be honest. Spending a handful of hours in a van followed by very limited sleep is quite detrimental for your vocal cords. At least it is on mine. The song “Slow Pace of the Winds” has particularly high notes that need to be hit without any form of leading scaling. It’s “Bang! Here’s the high note!” so I was wondering if I should go lower instead. I knew I should have, but it’s not really how I operate, especially when it’s the emotional and pivotal point of a song. We’ve come too far along to be scared or play safe at that point, right? We would see some very old friends for the first time, too, some of them dating as far back as 2006; the MySpace era… Oh, the memories! The world has changed ever since, no doubt about that. I’m not sure that some of our early days antics would be accepted nowadays. In fact, I’m sure they wouldn’t! We learn and we grow. Alright, back to the concert now!
It went by in a split second. If the soundcheck wasn’t too satisfying for me, the concert, on the other hand, was another thing altogether. We were on “it”. The band’s dynamics and motions were locked in. Everyone was in perfect synergy. My voice was clear, strong, and powerful, but more importantly, it was carrying the sensations cultivated by the fabulously loud and welcoming crowd defining the communion that the music was channeling. Wow, wow, wow!!! and the comments floating around once I reached the merch table after the concert were rich in heart and soul. When almost everyone you talk to refers to what has been shared as a spiritual connection and a ceremonial get-together, you know it was greater than the band itself. And it truly was. A fabulously supportive lady told me that we were no entertainers, even though we had hypnotized the crowd the second we walked on stage, looked at them, smiled, and led them in a 20-minute-long mantra. “You guys are an immaterial and supernatural experience,” she added. “With a lot of noises,” I laughed. She pushed me gently, saying that we shouldn’t see ourselves short and that I knew what she meant. And yes, I knew, and I’m learning to receive it. It’s not even false modesty; it’s long-lasting insecurities and doubtful vestiges, I suppose. But again, I’m slowly healing with every single one of those soulful conversations.
And that already poignant evening streamed through heartfelt hugs, gentle kisses, laughter, and old memories, but also by the joyful blessing of making a whole lot of new friends. It warmed my heart to hear so many say that it was way too short and that we had to come back for a full set. “With your type of layered sounds, you have to play that venue or that one,” they would say, or “Cali is home for you guys now! Come back soon!” all the way up to something like “I hated you at the end of your 5-hour first song. I wasn’t prepared for that type of music and felt stupid not knowing you, but look at me now, I don’t remember asking an artist to sign the album I just bought ever before, so I hate you even more now. Come back for a week-long set of 5 songs, I’ll camp in front of the stage. You’re too good for own sake!” I figured the number of negatives employed made it a very positive comment. The opposite of the opposite is just the thing itself, right? We were received as family, and we felt just like it.
The night ended with Jamal, The New Parish’s manager, the friendliest venue manager I have encountered in a long time, coming to us right at midnight and offering Kerim a beer as it was his birthday. Jamal remembered that I had mentioned it a few hours before. I mean, that is not only classy, it is a spectacular gesture in my book! So nice and generous. Just like the rest of the team at the venue. Everyone was phenomenal in their own right. They all asked me to come back, and I will — we will! What a day, what an evening. What a privilege!!!
Next stop: Chicago. Los Angeles and SoCal will be next time around!
Much love
PS: Thanks to our sis Cynthia, I got to sign “Uncle Alex” on posters and drum skins for her kids. I told you; it’s truly family!
PPS: Don’t call me Uncle Alex, that’s only for Cynthia’s kids! Even though I’ve been asked to be the godfather of a dear dear friend’s second child… It’s getting hard to pretend time doesn’t fly now!
The night ended with Jamal, The New Parish’s manager, the friendliest venue manager I have encountered in a long time, coming to us right at midnight and offering Kerim a beer as it was his birthday. Jamal remembered that I had mentioned it a few hours before. I mean, that is not only classy, it is a spectacular gesture in my book! So nice and generous. Just like the rest of the team at the venue. Everyone was phenomenal in their own right. They all asked me to come back, and I will — we will! What a day, what an evening. What a privilege!!!
Next stop: Chicago. Los Angeles and SoCal will be next time around!
Much love
PS: Thanks to our sis Cynthia, I got to sign “Uncle Alex” on posters and drum skins for her kids. I told you; it’s truly family!
PPS: Don’t call me Uncle Alex, that’s only for Cynthia’s kids! Even though I’ve been asked to be the godfather of a dear dear friend’s second child… It’s getting hard to pretend time doesn’t fly now!
